Cities to visit before you die

New Zealand authorities are racing to identify the 50 people killed in a massacre at two mosques so their families can bury them in accordance with Muslim tradition. In addition to the people killed in the attack on Friday, 50 others were wounded in the shootings, authorities said. Of the injured, 34 people remain in Christchurch Hospital, including 12 in intensive care. Islamic tradition calls for a person to be buried as soon as possible after death, ideally within 24 hours. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday that authorities had started returning identified bodies to families, and all bodies will be returned by Wednesday. Six disaster victim identification experts have traveled from Australia to help hasten the process, she said. New Zealand police described efforts to identify the victims as "detailed and complex work" that must be completed thoroughly. "It's vital we have certainty around cause of death for any future court proceedings," Detective Superintendent Peter Read … [Read more...] about New Zealand rushes to identify Christchurch terror attack victims

Viet Nam News Hồ Kim Liên was an obstetrician at the Phú Quốc General Hospital before becoming chairwoman of the Khải Hoàn Trading Joint Stock Company and the Phú Quốc Fish Sauce Association. Liên and other members of the association have made great contributions to reviving and developing the traditional Phú Quốc fish sauce. Xuân Hương spoke to her. Inner Sanctum: Why did you give up a job that is the dream of many young people to become the chief of a traditional fish sauce company? Are you pleased with what you have achieved since? I am the eldest of eight children in a family that has been making the traditional fish sauce for many generations. But none of us took up my parents’ business of making traditional fish sauce. Then my father died suddenly, and my family had to temporarily close the business. In 2005 I went to France to attend a professional training course. I had a chance to visit … [Read more...] about Former doctor restores Phú Quốc fish sauce to traditional glory

Long time no see Nguyen Thanh Chau, or Vance McElhinney as he is known in Northern Ireland, is with his Vietnamese mother Le Thi Anh in Quy Nhon town in central Vietnam on February 10, 2018. Photo by VnExpress A British man who was among 100 babies rescued from an orphanage in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 returned home this year to celebrate his first Tet, Lunar New Year, with his Vietnamese mother in February. Nguyen Thanh Chau, or Vance McElhinney as he is known in Northern Ireland, was admitted to an orphanage after his mother, Le Thi Anh, had an accident in 1975 and was hospitalized for more than two months. An airlift campaign organized by the U.K. newspaper Daily Mail took the child to the U.K., where he was adopted by a new family and started a new life. When he reached his twenties, he decided to go looking for his biological family, with a small photo carrying a relative’s name on the back. After a long search, he finally found his … [Read more...] about Uplifting moments to carry as 2018 moves into 2019

Viet Nam News Tường Hân ĐỒNG NAI — A typical morning in Dốc Mơ Farm starts with fresh bamboo charcoal toothpaste by the spring, before the residents wash their clothes using soap berries, all grown in their garden. Established in October, 2015, Dốc Mơ Farm in Thống Nhất District, the southern province of Đồng Nai is the common home of 20 young people who left their urban lives behind to pursue the dream of natural farming. Natural farming is an ecological farming approach introduced by Japanese philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka. In Việt Nam, this method has attracted a lot of attention via Fukuoka’s book entitled The One-straw Revolution which was published in 1975. Having left behind city life three years ago, Lại Hồng Vy, 27, has more than 12,000 followers on Facebook, where she publishes stories of eating healthily, living sustainably and reducing waste. As farmers at … [Read more...] about Tired of the rat race, city slickers go all natural

Viet Nam News Paul Kennedy Tough-talking, no nonsense former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once famously said: “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” Sorry Bill, you were wrong. Shankly was a legend at Liverpool and to many was more of a god than a man. Fans would bow down before him and hang on his every word. He was a cult leader adored by many. Supporters would treat what he said as the gospel according to Bill. He was funny, smart, witty and cutting. But when he said the game was more important than life and death, he was talking nonsense. This really came home to roost for Liverpool supporters on April 15, 1989 when 96 fans died at Hillsborough during the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final. Football wasn’t important then. It didn’t matter. There were many times before lives had been lost over football. The Munich air disaster in 1958 saw 23 people killed, many of them Manchester … [Read more...] about A time to realise football just doesn’t really matter

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – For months, every morning and evening along roads in Ha Noi a young man on a fancy motorbike has been offering pedestrians free rides. Hà Trung Hiếu or Harry Hà, 26, an IT engineer in Hà Nội, has been offering rides to those travelling on the same route to work as him. "Every day, I went to work by motorbike and went alone. And then I thought why not let people go along completely free?” Harry Hà told Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper. “It was also an opportunity to do good deeds expressing my kindness for life and it brought me opportunities to meet and talk to many people that I met by chance”, Harry Hà said. This also helped complete his long-term photo project on strangers. He hoped his deeds would spread kindness in society, but some people were cautious and skeptical at first. “Initially, I was on the road, and I asked those who were waiting buses or xe om … [Read more...] about Ha Noi man offers motocycle rides to work for free

Doctors said there was no hope. The baby would die. The broken-hearted father signed the cremation papers. He could not take her to their native place for burial because the premature baby’s mother, his wife, was still in the hospital and had to be tended to. Later, the sad parents went to the hospital to collect the ashes, but could not. They returned home, accepting their fate. But... In a story that twists at every turn with ifs and buts, the baby did not die. No chance “When I was six months pregnant, doctors at the district hospital said my baby had congenital hydrocephalus (a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid accumulates within the brain and increases pressure inside the skull). They advised me to give her up. “Even if she was born, she would not survive (for long), they noted,” said Khong Thi Thu Trang, sitting in her small house in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre. Trang and her husband did not lose hope immediately. They went to the Tu Du … [Read more...] about A baby dies, survives and reunites with long-lost Vietnamese mother

Ta-Da! And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Drum roll, please! Lunar New Year’s Eve…! You’ve survived the Year of the Rooster … now it’s time for the Year of the Dog. And that’s my year! 2017 was a hectic and wild year. APEC and Damrey both came and went. Folks protested about unfair highway tolls and the ever-present pollution issues. The U23 football team broke records and made sporting history for Vietnam. Economically, it was a good year for Vietnam and tourism numbers are slowly rising. Dengue fever sadly hit record highs amid confusion over the use and effectiveness of dengue vaccine trials. Fortunately, banh mi continued to be the best thing since sliced bread! Some people love to party on Lunar New Year’s Eve and others absolutely loathe it. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, a ‘curl up by the fireplace’ person or the life of the party – you can’t ignore LNYE. LNYE also marks the … [Read more...] about Say hello to Lunar New Year’s Eve in Vietnam

Metalex expo to attract 500 foreign firms in OctoberBy Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times DailyHCMC - Metalex Vietnam, an international machine tools and metalworking technology exhibition, will be held for the first time in HCMC and the second time in the country from October 1-3, with some 500 foreign companies taking part.Reed Tradex, the organizer of the exhibition, said yesterday that Metalex Vietnam 2008 will provide a good chance for Vietnamese industrialists to become acquainted with the latest equipment and technology developed by the companies from Japan, Sweden, Germany, China, Thailand, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and elsewhere. The number of the participating companies will be double that in Metalex Vietnam 2007, which was held in Hanoi. The upcoming Metalex will showcase machinery and equipment in the categories of machine tools, machining centers, sheet metal working, welding technology, factory automation, pumps and valves, material handling, molds and … [Read more...] about Metalex expo to attract 500 foreign firms in October

A Vietnamese mother was denied visa to the U.S. twice and could not attend the funeral of her son, who served in the U.S. Navy, his father told the media. The 22-year-old veteran died of leukemia last month but his mother missed his burial because her request to visit was turned down by the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, WREG-TV reported. “That’s what made me fuming mad. Fuming,” the father, Hung Truong, who is of Vietnamese origin, told the Memphis station. His son served in the Navy for four years before leaving in October and had planned to study graphic design. He died on December 17, shortly after doctors diagnosed him. The father said his son was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s exhortation: Don’t ask what your country did for you, but ask what you did for your country. “But he’s already done for this country, but what has this country done for him?” he said, as cited in the report. Truong, who owns a jewelry store in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese mother of US veteran denied visa to attend his funeral: report